Strand handling apparatus



Nov. 2, 1943. A. J. DOWD STRAND HANDLING APPARATUS File d Feb. 7, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVEN TOR A. J. 00 W0 er fim u-w m A 7'TORNE) Nov. 2, 1943.

Filed Feb. 7, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 91 9 0 4 4 7'7'OXPNEV INVENTOI? A.J. DOWD Nov. 2, 1943. A. J. DOWD 2,333,158

STRANDv HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 7, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 6'

FIG. 7 J0 ial l INVENTOR A. J. 00 W0 A 7' TORNEV Patented Nov. 2, 1943 UNITED; STATES PATENT i' Archie J. Dowd, Plainfield, N. .L, assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Ya, a corporation of New York Application February 7, 1942, Serial No. 429,929

' s Claims. (01. 164-48) This invention relates to strand handling-ap paratus, and more particularly to apparatus for cutting accurately predetermined lengths in unlimited sequence from continuous strands of rela- ,tively little inherent stillness.

support a considerable length of themselvescantilever fashion. In some such apparatus a length of wire is drawn from a supply through an open pair of jaws or other gripping means, followed by suitablemeasuring and cutting devices for a predetermined distance, whereupon the jaws or other means are actuated to. grip and hold the wire While' a predetermined length is cut on, in such fashion that amore or less considerable length is left projecting from the grippingmeans for the drawing means to take hold of at the 'beginning of the next cycle of operation. This projecting portion of wire is unsupported beyond the gripping device except by its own inherent stiffness, being in effect a cantilever beam. An apparatus of this kind may be further adapted not only to cut lengths of insulated wire, but also, at the same time, to strip the insulation from predetermined portions of each end of each length, to provide connector wires which are used in myriad ways in the construction of electrical devices and apparatus. In apparatus for making connector wires withstripped ends, there maybe a considerable length of wire p ojecting from the wire gripping means, at the end of a cycle, un supported except by its stiffness.

' There are instances also in the'electricalarts, especially in the manufacture of apparatus for telephone and radio purposes, where it is desired terproofing or insulating material also. a

At the present time, when it is highly necessary to conservethenations outputof machine tools and capacityfor producing special manufacturingapparatus of any kind, special efiorts are-being made to widen the adaptabilityof exist ing' machines and apparatus, toenable them: to carry, out functions not contemplated in their original "design and construction, preferably often without more than temporarily affecting their effectiveness forytheir original function and use.

An; object of the present inventionisto adapt an' existing machine intended to cut and strip relatively rigid connector wires, to make such machine effective to, out; predetermined lengths of relatively limp sleeving o With the above and other; objects in view,-in a machine having means to draw out from a supplyby means of a reciprocating gripping device a predetermined length-of a' strand or plurality ;of associated strands and having means to cut; offla predetermined portion of the said length, the invention may be embodied'by providing fur- ,ther a resilientl yielding support for an uncut portion of th drawn-out length to be drivenresiliently back by the gripping device during apart of the reciprocation thereof. I Other objects and features of the invention will appear from the following detailed description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which the same'reference numerals are applied to identical parts in the several figures andinwhiclr 'Fig. 1, isa plan view of an apparatus embodying the invention; i

Fig. 2 is a View thereoiln casing parts broken away; o

Fi 3 is abroken enlarged plan view of the rear elevation with gripper carriage;

was originally a commercially available machine designed and constructed to handle a single strand of; insulated electrical conductor wire to cut from a continuousunlimited length thereof, in unlimited sequence, segments all of' the same adjustably predetermined length and at thesame time'tostrip away the insulation from aportion of each segment at each end thereof; ,Ina'ccordance with the present invention and as herein further disclosed and described, the apparatusis i altered and modified to be capable of handling one ora plurality of strands simultaneously of sleevma n y.

"brackets t he oorouer to and anttle'in front of the; rail: 2I and passes through circularapertures ing or other analogous, relativelylimp strands, to cut from a continuous unlimited length of such, in unlimited sequence, segments all of the same adjustably predetermined length.

For a clear understanding of the nature, purpose and scope of the present invention, it will be necessary to. describe so much of the original structure and, function of the; machine disclosed as is required to explain. and definelthe siubtrac tions, additions and, alterations which together constitute the embodiment of the present inven; 5, tion. Since, however, the machinegenerally v the environment of the present invention ratherthan the invention proper, all detail shovvn for completeness on the drawing needhotbeiul y.

described in detail in this description-andvice-,5--

A carriage unit, generallyfindicated alt-i03 is reciprocable along a horizontal rail 2| supported in brackets carried on the main frame of the quare shaft 22} is'jour'nall'ed in the 23 m thence wens-or the hollow body 24- entire carriage, pair'of intermeshe'dpartialpinion's 2'5 and '26 is Inountedin the carriage below the station-p vots parallel to the shaft; on a me.

integral with each pinion is'mofu'n'ted pivotbilly one of a; pair of Str'a nd grippin leVlisZT and 28 IE e'pe'otiv'eiy, formed" with complementary .g r'iopmg jaws 29 and so respectively attliei rlow'r'ends and, connected respectively by links 31 and flit'o the ca rri'a'ge body 24}. -I-Ience by rotation: in-i n zsen zs theQjaWSYS-and so are eparated and raised 'orbrought together and-lowe'rd, "so tli'atinlstrand" gripping position 'the e when wi e y oeperat ov onsideraory lowert A generally cylindrical sleeve- 23 is' lo'cat ith; in the carnag body 24,andhas a'oentralgsquare bore which receives the square shaft '22; so that the sleeve is sli*dable on" butfrotatable byth' the ou er end or'wm rrie rigidly secured one of a'stiff spring member '35, 'attached-figi its other end to a link 3'1. The link-311's p v otauy secured-between twin triangular li-n-E '38 3 8, which in turn are pivotably supiiorted shaft 39; which ifiiilnlld irnth'e body 21 and also carries the pinion- 2'6' rigi ly secoregi itifijit's outer end Between'the-linlis' w;twin-love s40, 4 are rigidly secured on the shaft-' 39; more. attachedto the inksss by a screw threade' adjllstable leittg thlink M entering pivots fl a joining" respectively the two links 38 With otherand the'tw'o'levers w-vvit-heach ot [A safety link 44 connects thepivotof the'levrtd and n t: .35- directly'g-to the pivot or the link-31 and links" 38; but vvith'so much intentionally fir ovided'lost motion'a nd'loo'seness on thepivotsthat it is never operative unless the spring of '35 is "accidentally broken, when the 'safety link orevents the 'thu's'ireed'lements' from running one; 'No matter where the-carriage zemayoe on thes'lid 2'1, "the shaftl-z'z is effective -if rotated; to t'urn the levers 3'4; move the link 35,- spring as and link. 31,. turn thelinks'38'.-on= theshaftfifl; move the link M-and thuslturn the levers 48 to turn the shaft 'I he'shaft- SS then turns the pinion- '26 and so the pinion: 25 to open aiid raise, or'lower and 'closethe javvs'29 and 312t The carriage zones a 'p'ul1 and pusha'ctuating a bell'crank lever G8 which is itself pivoted at 9! i on a braclget; of the main frame. Intermediate ijts e'xtrernities the link-lever 46 has} an alterna- 10 i pivotally attached to a block 5! slidably adjhstable on an arcuate lever 52, pivoted at 53 on stationery frame bracket. The lever 52 also has a cam roller 55 driven by a cam 55 secured I ,dr'veishaft 56. The cam 55 driving .the' 'lever filzjcause's the block 5! and link 50 to turn the lever 46 on the fulcrum 4'! to shift the carriage al'ong i'ts rail. The bell crank lever 48 is connected by a'link 51 to one end. of a lever 58 pivoted at 92 on a stationaryframe.member: and'z havi'ngai carni follower 53' on; its: other end driven by; a; cam: track -51: in. a; ca m: 6.3]; on. the. shaft 58'. l'lhe cam. 6D driving thele'ver. 53l arldilillk- 51" causes; the c'rank 48 to turn the lever' ifiro'n .thezfoulcruina dfiito shi'ft *theicarriagealong itsrail=- y The. cam 50; also: has a; cam. track 62. which -driV;.Es:i'a;. fol-lower, 6355011 a: lever. 611 pivoted-i at 92 also; to actuate, a? pull and; push. actuating rod 16.5 to. open 'ZlldpClOSGf shearing: blades: 66a and: 61?, mounted. on: members driver-'1 toward: and; from each'; other.byrtwinmacks, IE8: and E8; and. a pinion 69;.driven by theirod $5....Thesheanblades -65 and 6.1; andxthe: partswhich support.- ajndtgn'i'de these as Welt as the; parts: which; support and guide theraicks "lfiflvand iiBuwhich are respectively connectcdw-toyanddrive the shear. blades 56.. and 8;]; are not ShOWIl- 'Ol f describedsinx'detailt ore den-not, tozconfuse th drawin s. with unnecessarydeta-i-lp 'fihegrod fi a ushes andpuIIs-the rack tfinsecured todtto pulllor pushthe blade-:65; The rack 68, 'veslthenpinion 69; whichispivoted on a; stationary-pin, 93; and; which, drives; the rack fihtolnulltor push he-bladefifi; Guidewaysefor h ec pr c ting; par s fi; 1&3; '65-: and 61 are .t;,belie ed-. o requ r deta led-i i lustration, or

description-.3

further. l 0; 1 i he ..shaft fizdrives a. fol? lower. 51: a eve -.512; al oamvoted-r ti ir d whichis e o nected to a, link,-'73iwhichfactuatfis hmuehJ-e. rs 11115 51: ai ed '6 oa tuate: a 1 &1 o 51 .11 tsgiuare shaft-1% to. rotate. the ameteonseprwpen; heiiawsfiasand-aflo Theshaftfihisdn en hmug altable pu leys; be v nd ar n as; shown. rom?; amotor. T8: e shaft 56 be min dz y.' andswh adjustments are,to ble 1rn' ade-,;,by;a;. hand wheel-N. The variou amse levers; links, cranks. and other actuating, and-ectuatedelements aboye dee scribed are;,so proportioned-fand'oadaptedeand rei latcd. to each other; that when. the shaft: is driven. by; the; ;nro.tor 18; at, constant r speed the hereinafter described cycle'iof operations iso re heated;ioverandoverzj T-urningnowg t 'RigsBite;flz inclusiveglet-zit be assumed that theojavts.,2B;an.d-E3Baha3ve :gripped and drawn out to;the;rieh:t; past the'cutting plane of the. shear knives ,Gfizand fill; the-desired predee tor-mined lengtliuioi' 2.: ;bur 1 dle.. .o'fr sleevingustrands 19'; here shovvn,.'as. three". numbeributtwhicn may be of anymnmber with-sin thac'apacityoof the jaws to grasp. andehold securely Letkit be-fur'e then supposed-"that; shear knives.,have {just closed landcut oft the. lpredeterminedlilength aorthezbun'dl'e of strands.-' Theljaws stilli closed then tive fulcrum at 49 on a link 5!! Whose other end I shown in Fig. 9. close, gripping the bundle of strands a'gain near their new forward ends, as shown in Fig. 10. -In

of a strand gripped in the jaws. purposes, this motion is idle.

move a short distancestill further to the right. This'is a useless but harmless motion for the purposes of the machine as adaptedbythe present invention. Originally there-were auxiliary knives on eitherside of the shear knives 66 and strip the insulation from "the rear end of the piece or segment of wire just cut. As modified,

*thestripper knives have been removedfrom the machine and this actionof thejaws, shown in Fig. 7, is waste motion. v

'At the next stage (Fig. 8), the jaws have opened and droppedthe cutoff bundle of lengths into any 'suitable receptacle not shown.

. T jaw'sthen move'to the left, still open and raised above the level of the knives, to the position They then drop-down and this position the jaws are just to the left of the originally present left hand pair ofstripper knives, not shown here because they have been removed for the purposes "of the present invention. The jaws next move a short distance to left to the position shown in Fig. 11. In the original machine, this served to strip the front end For present In the next stage, the shear knives 66 andfil are drawn apart, as shown in Fig. 12. The jaws gripping the bundle of strands then move forward between the openedaknives to the position of Fig. 6, the knives close, cutting off the prede enough to support themselves, from some point to the left of the position of the knives in Figs. 11

and '12; no modification'of the machine is required, beyond removal-of the stripper knives to "eifectthe desired results. Butwhen the strands are relatively ,liinp, e. g], "are" sleeving, after the cutis made" in Fig. 6, and the strands are unsupportedfrom some point at least as far from the cutting plane as the left side of the jaws in Fig. 12, the unsupported strand ends will sag and lop down in such fashion that the jaws in Figs. 9 and 10 fail to catch hold of them either properly or at all.

To obviate this, and as a principal feature of the present invention, the device shown in enlarged detail in Figs. 13 and 14, as well as diagrammatically and on a smaller scale in Figs. 6 to 12 inclusive, is introduced. In this a supporting sleeve or tube 8!) is located around the path of the strands it as they approach the cutting plane of the knives 66 and 61. The tube is supported in a housing 8! secured to a bracket on the machine frame. The tube is slidable in the housing along the strand path and is yieldingly held toward the knives by a spring 82. On the right hand end of the tube is secured a head 83 having a bore 84 coaxial with the bore of the tube. A transversely disposed bore 85 in the head houses in one counterbored end a cylindrical disk 88 having a knurled head 81 outside the head 83, and in the other counterbored end a disk 88 having a peripheral groove therein to receive the end of a jam screw 89 mounted in the head 83. An excentric cross bar 99 connects the two disks rigidly, and can be turned by loosening the screw 89 and turning the head 81 to narrow the passageway of the strands as desired, and thus effect a more or less severe frictional grip on the strands passing through, so that when the tension created in'the strands, by drawing out a length of them, is suddenly released by the knives, the fresh -of the strand, they just clear the front face of the head, 83. Then when the jaws move left 'as in Figs. 11 and 12, making the now idle stripping movement, the tube'88 yields against the spring 82, and returns again as in Fig. 6 atthe next step. Thus the strands are supportedto the rightmost possible extent at all times and particularly during the stages shown in Figs. 9 land 10, thus ensuring that the strands will be satisfactorily gripped by the jaws at each operative cycle.

The embodiment of the invention disclosed may obviously be modified as to details of structure without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as pointed out in the appended claims. I

What is claimed is: a s

1. In an apparatus having a reciprocating gripping device to grip and draw out a predetermined length of strand from a supply thereof and shear means to cut off a predetermined portion .of the said length, means to support'the remaining portion of the said length comprising a supporting member fo'r'the said remaining portion of strand, and resilient mounting means for the member arranged so that the gripping device will displace the supporting member resiliently from its normal position during a part of the recipr'ocating motion of the device.

2. In an apparatus having a reciprocating gripping device to grip and draw out a pred termined length of strand from a supply thereof and shear means to cut off a predetermined portion of the said length, means to support the remaining portion of the said length comprising a supporting member for the saidremaining portion of strand,.and resilient mounting means for the member arranged so that the gripping device will displace the supporting member resiliently from its normal position during a part of the reciprocating motion of the device, the supporting member being normally closely adjacent to the gripping device when the latter is acting to grip the strand.

3. In an apparatus having a reciprocating gripping device to grip and draw out a predetermined length of strand from a supply thereof and shear means to cut oil a predetermined portion of the said length, means to support the remaining portion of the said length comprising a supporting member for the said remaining portion of strand, a guide on which the member is mounted to be slidable to and fro along the strand, and a spring to hold the member yieldably in a normal position on the guide so that the gripping device will displace the member resiliently from the normal position thereof during a part of the reciprocatory motion of the device.

4. In an apparatus having a reciprocating gripping device to grip and draw out a predetermined length of strand from a supply thereof and shear means to cut off a predetermined portion of the said length, means to support the remaining portion of thesaid length comprising a supporting member for the said remaining portion of strand, a guide on which the member is mounted to be slidable to and fro along the strand, and a spring to hold the member yieldteri'isxazitingxtoigrip the strand. #5. In: an amiaratus :having m in a hermal, position onthe guide so :that the gripping device will; displace fthe memherzre- 'silientlyifrom the Znormai iPOSflliOIl :thereoi (duringa partof thereciprocatory motion :of -.th'e de- .vice, the supportingmemher being norm-allys'olosely adiaoent to the gripping device when :the flatably in :a normal position :in the housing so that the gripping device --will displace the tube v-resiliently ulrom the normal position 'T hereof duringa part of the reciprocatory motion of I the-device.

=6.In an apparatus :having a reciprocating grippingdevice to grip and draw out amredetermined length of strand from a supply thereof and :shear means-to cut off 'apredetermined portion of the said-length, means to support'the remaining portion of the said length comprising a tubetoenclose and support the said remaining portion of strand, a housing-in -.which theztube is suppOrted to vbe slidable'thereinto and fro-along the strand, and 2. spring to hold the tubeyieldably'in a normalposition in the housing so that the gripping device will displace the tuberesiliently from the normal positionthereofduring-a part of the reciprocatorwmotion-of the device,

the tube having o'neend normally closecliadjacent to the gripping device, when thelatter is acting to grip the strand' if '7. In an apparatus having a reciprocating grippingdevice to grip and'draw'out a predetermined length of strand from a supply thereof vandishear means'to cutaoff .a predeterminedmon tion of the-said :length, :ineans tossupport the re- 'niai'ning portion :of the said length comprising .a supporting member for the-said remaining.porare tion :of the strand, a guide on which-the memher :is mounted to he :slidabl'e to and :fro aiong thexstrandrand. a spring to hold tthemember yieldably in a normal position on the guide so that the gripping device will displace the member resiliently from the normal position thereof during a gpartiof :the reciprocatory motion of the device, in ccombinati'on with means on the member to maintain wa friotionally yielding grasp on 'the ana M.

8. -In an apparatus having a reciprocating gripping device -to grip and draw out ia predetermined length of strand -fr0masupply thereof and-shear means to cut :oif a predetermined portion of the said length, means .to .support :the. remaining portion 4 of the said length comprising a tube toenclose and support the said remaining portion of strand, a housing in which the tube is supported;to be slidable therein to andiro along :the strand, and a spring to hold theitube yieldably ;in a normal position in the housing so that the gripping device will displace :the tube resiliently Efrem the .normal position thereof I during aipart of the reoiprocato-ry:motion-oi the 'device, .in oonihinationawith .means on the .tube .to maintain a irictionally .-yie1ding grasp on the strand.

S9. in an apparatus having a reciprocating grippingdevice .to grip anddraw out a predetermined length of strand from a supply thereof and shear means tooutvoff a-predeterrnined-portion of the said length,-means torsupport the remaining portion of the said length comprising -a Y tube to enoloseiand support the said remaining 

